Graphene sheets for drug release
Graphene is one of the thinnest and strongest known materials and has been used in drug delivery before. Scientists from Australia recently discovered that the sheets of graphene oxide, which have a honeycomb structure 100 times stronger than steel at just one atom thick, can form liquid crystal droplets that change structure in an external magnetic field. This change in structure could help deliver drugs by initiating a targeted release.
Drug delivery systems tend to use magnetic particles which are very effective but they can't always be used because these particles can be toxic in certain physiological conditions. In contrast, graphene doesn't contain any magnetic properties. This combined with the fact that it can be changed into liquid crystal simply and cheaply, strengthens the prospect that it may one day be used for a new kind of drug delivery system.
This spontaneous state change makes it so that advanced equipment such as atomizers aren't needed for the transformation--but by simply placing the graphene in a certain solution, the material acts like a polymer without that intervention.
Like the tiny organelles used to propel some bacteria, artificial cilia developed by German engineers could someday help deliver drugs.
Researchers have built nano-sized reproductions of natural cilia such as the ones in the human respiratory system that keep harmful pathogens from affecting lung function. These artificial cilia can be used to improve delivery by "pushing" particles along in a targeted manner.
However, getting the cilia to move in an organized way was a challenge. The researchers attached a unidirectional switch that directs each cilium to beat in a certain way in order to make them more uniformly effective. The team also put a molecular "suction cup" on each cilium that would help it adhere to drug delivery vehicles, particularly those made with gold nanoparticles.
These artificial cilia come together to form sheets that resemble epithelium layers found in nature. These could, like their natural counterparts, help carry drugs through the bloodstream to a targeted site.
The drug, with the name of neratinib, is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor under investigation for the treatment breast cancer and other solid tumors. Like the lapatinib of GSK, neratinib is a dual inhibitor of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2) and epidermal (EGFR) kinases. In July 22, Puma has announced the results from the Phase III clinical trials that examined the effect of neratinib to early HER-2 positive breast cancer, the results displayed that neratinib could improve disease-free survival of patients (DFS) up to 33% when compared with placebo. Being influenced by this amazing result, the share price of Puma's company jumped almost twice as much overnight. Interestingly, Puma's stock has plunged over 25% on June 2 after investors soured on its "positive" news about neratinib with only three of 40 breast cancer patients in a study demonstrating a partial response. Howard Liang, the analyst of Leerink Partners, predicted that the drug will reach $ 2.5 billion in annual sales in 2020 if approved. However, even Puma looks will get huge profits from neratinib in clinical trials, this drug is started by Prizer and almost all study patients also recruited by Pfizer.
Drug delivery systems tend to use magnetic particles which are very effective but they can't always be used because these particles can be toxic in certain physiological conditions. In contrast, graphene doesn't contain any magnetic properties. This combined with the fact that it can be changed into liquid crystal simply and cheaply, strengthens the prospect that it may one day be used for a new kind of drug delivery system.
This spontaneous state change makes it so that advanced equipment such as atomizers aren't needed for the transformation--but by simply placing the graphene in a certain solution, the material acts like a polymer without that intervention.
Like the tiny organelles used to propel some bacteria, artificial cilia developed by German engineers could someday help deliver drugs.
Researchers have built nano-sized reproductions of natural cilia such as the ones in the human respiratory system that keep harmful pathogens from affecting lung function. These artificial cilia can be used to improve delivery by "pushing" particles along in a targeted manner.
However, getting the cilia to move in an organized way was a challenge. The researchers attached a unidirectional switch that directs each cilium to beat in a certain way in order to make them more uniformly effective. The team also put a molecular "suction cup" on each cilium that would help it adhere to drug delivery vehicles, particularly those made with gold nanoparticles.
These artificial cilia come together to form sheets that resemble epithelium layers found in nature. These could, like their natural counterparts, help carry drugs through the bloodstream to a targeted site.
The drug, with the name of neratinib, is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor under investigation for the treatment breast cancer and other solid tumors. Like the lapatinib of GSK, neratinib is a dual inhibitor of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2) and epidermal (EGFR) kinases. In July 22, Puma has announced the results from the Phase III clinical trials that examined the effect of neratinib to early HER-2 positive breast cancer, the results displayed that neratinib could improve disease-free survival of patients (DFS) up to 33% when compared with placebo. Being influenced by this amazing result, the share price of Puma's company jumped almost twice as much overnight. Interestingly, Puma's stock has plunged over 25% on June 2 after investors soured on its "positive" news about neratinib with only three of 40 breast cancer patients in a study demonstrating a partial response. Howard Liang, the analyst of Leerink Partners, predicted that the drug will reach $ 2.5 billion in annual sales in 2020 if approved. However, even Puma looks will get huge profits from neratinib in clinical trials, this drug is started by Prizer and almost all study patients also recruited by Pfizer.
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